As a part of my attempt to use up some of my old yarn before buying any more, I crocheted this cowl last night. It's one of my favorite crochet stitches, and I don't even know its name. I just saw a blanket made with it once, figured it out on my own, and started using it for a few different things, including this lap blanket I made last summer. When I came across some super bulky wool (blue was left over from my late-night hat), I wanted a quick and easy something to make. And since cowls seem to be my answer to everything recently, a cowl it was. TA-DA!

Basically, the crochet stitch goes like this:

make a single crochet base chain to your desired length, turn work

single crochet into one stitch, chain 1, skip a stitch, and repeat until you've reached the end of your row

chain 2, turn your work, and single crochet into each chain 1 space until you've reached the end

repeat that row until your project is as long as you want it to be

NOTE: the last single crochet of each row will be crocheted into the chain 2 you started the previous row with

Pretty easy, right? It takes the most basic of crochet stitches and creates something really visually interesting. If you do two rows of each color like I did, it looks a bit like a zig-zag pattern. Pretty cool, huh? After I was done with the long piece that would eventually become a cowl, I single crocheted one side edge with pink, then stitched that just over the other side edge. Honestly, mine turned out pretty sloppy, but now that I know what I'm doing, take 2 will [hopefully] go much smoother. (Note to self: overlap the edges more than just a smidge. Go at least an inch/1.5 inches.)

And because I have so much yarn and refuse to buy anymore unless I really, really need to (and, honestly, when do I ever really need the yarn I buy?), I spent two hours yesterday afternoon organizing what I do have. I commandeered a spare dresser in the attic - seriously, you can find anything up there - and organized everything by weight and (mostly) by color. I get a little giddy just looking at my worsted weight drawer.

It feels SO GOOD to finally have all of it organized. I've never had much space for my yarn, so it's sat in bags and plastic containers that have been moved from here to there to everywhere as I've rearranged and reorganized everything else. Pulling out each of those drawers gives me a small sense of accomplishment, and I love it. I still have more yarn that needs to be brought upstairs and organized, but it's a step toward organizing that one unorganized thing that's been driving me crazy. Yarn stash, I love you, I really do, but I don't love how you never seem to get any smaller. At least now you're tucked away!